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Cpl. Tom Sweeny and his dog, Boss, a retired CCSO K-9, at a park in Naples, Florida, on Monday, Oct. 17, 2016. Boss retired earlier this month after working in the Sheriff's Office for six years. He has been battling an aggressive cancer and is in remission, enjoying the rest of his time with his handler and family. Nicole Raucheisen/Naples Daily News

Boss, a retired CCSO K-9, sits at a park in Naples, Florida, on Monday, Oct. 17, 2016. Boss retired earlier this month after working in the Sheriff's Office for six years. He has been battling an aggressive cancer and is in remission, enjoying the rest of his time with his handler and family. Nicole Raucheisen/Naples Daily News

Cpl. Tom Sweeny's uniform signifies he's with the K-9 Unit while walking Boss, his retired CCSO K-9, at a park in Naples, Florida on Monday, Oct. 17, 2016. Boss retired earlier this month after working in the sheriff's office for six years. He has been battling an aggressive cancer and is currently in remission, enjoying the rest of his time with his handler and family. Nicole Raucheisen/Naples Daily News

Boss, a retired CCSO K-9, sits at a park in Naples, Florida, on Monday, Oct. 17, 2016. Boss retired earlier this month after working in the Sheriff's Office for six years. He has been battling an aggressive cancer and is in remission, enjoying the rest of his time with his handler and family. Nicole Raucheisen/Naples Daily News

Cpl. Tom Sweeny takes a photo of Marianela Farrada with Boss, a retired CCSO K-9, at a park in Naples, Florida on Monday, Oct. 17, 2016. Ms. Farrada was intitally afraid of large dogs, but warmed up to Boss after Sweeny demonstrated how sweet and well-behaved he was. Nicole Raucheisen/Naples Daily News

Boss, a retired CCSO K-9, licks his lips while sitting for a portrait at a park in Naples, Florida on Monday, Oct. 17, 2016. Boss retired earlier this month after working in the sheriff's office for six years. He has been battling an aggressive cancer and is currently in remission, enjoying the rest of his time with his handler and family. Nicole Raucheisen/Naples Daily News

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Boss, a retired CCSO K-9, sits at a park in Naples, Florida, on Monday, Oct. 17, 2016. Boss retired earlier this month after working in the Sheriff's Office for six years. He has been battling an aggressive cancer and is in remission, enjoying the rest of his time with his handler and family.(Photo: Nicole Raucheisen/Naples Daily News)Buy Photo

From the day Cpl. Tom Sweeny started working with his K-9 partner Boss, the dog proved what his name suggests — that he was boss.

“He took care of everything and didn’t really need a human counterpart,” said Sweeny, a deputy with the Collier County Sheriff’s Office K9 unit. “He just needed me to drive him around.”

Boss knew what to do wherever he went, and sometimes he didn’t slow down for his handler.

For almost seven years, Sweeny and Boss worked together patrolling Collier County — sniffing out bad guys, finding evidence and searching for missing children.

“You really can’t have a better partner than a dog,” Sweeny said.

Last year Boss was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer that tried to take him down.

Handlers are trained to pay close attention to their dog’s behaviors. When Boss started gobbling large amounts of water while on duty, Sweeny knew there was something wrong.

Boss never used to drink water while he was working.

The diagnosis was a blow to Sweeny’s family, especially his son, who grew up with Boss.

The prognosis was grim at first, Sweeny said. Although the chemotherapy treatments took a toll on him, Boss’ cancer is in remission. His veterinarian checks on him every three months.

Because of his condition, the Sheriff’s Office retired the K-9 earlier this month.

While Boss is no longer chasing bad guys and finding drugs, he can enjoy the rest of his years at home getting belly rubs and playing hide-and-seek with Sweeny’s son.

Not that retirement has been easy on either Sweeny or Boss.

When Sweeny puts on his Sheriff’s Office uniform and grabs his keys, Boss wags his tail and sits waiting by the front door so he can climb in their patrol car and go to work.

The deputy leaves the house with his new partner, Rexo. Boss stays by the door, as if hoping that Sweeny will be back to get him.

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Boss, a retired CCSO K-9, sits at a park in Naples, Florida, on Monday, Oct. 17, 2016. Boss retired earlier this month after working in the Sheriff's Office for six years. He has been battling an aggressive cancer and is in remission, enjoying the rest of his time with his handler and family.(Photo: Nicole Raucheisen/Naples Daily News)

“I think he was sad at first,” Sweeny said. “When I get home at night, he’s up waiting for me like ‘Hey, what happened at work today?’ But he’s adjusting to staying home and being with the family. He’s getting spoiled and gained a little bit of weight.”

It took some time for Sweeny and Boss to develop their relationship.

The K-9 came from Germany and joined the Sheriff’s Office just shy of 2 years old. He was in charge, and he made sure everyone knew it.

“When you’re training dogs, everything revolves around communication and respect,” said Sgt. William Gifford, K-9 trainer for the Sheriff’s Office. “In the beginning there was a bit of an issue with Boss respecting Tom. But when their relationship flourished, it was impressive watching them work. They made a great team.”

Sweeny was relatively new to the K-9 unit when he was partnered with Boss.

“He just wanted me out of the way,” Sweeny joked. “He’d let me know, ‘Hey, you’re the new guy. I know what I’m doing.’ If I didn’t move out of the way fast enough, he’d let me know.”

During one of the first calls the duo worked, the partners chased two men fleeing from deputies into a densely wooded area near the Naples Grande Beach Resort. Boss didn't slow down for Sweeny.

“I thought it was the funniest thing,” Gifford said. “They’re running through those woods, and Sweeny fell. Boss, headstrong as he is, was not stopping for his handler. Boss put him through it.”

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Cpl. Tom Sweeny and his dog, Boss, a retired CCSO K-9, at a park in Naples, Florida, on Monday, Oct. 17, 2016. Boss retired earlier this month after working in the Sheriff's Office for six years. He has been battling an aggressive cancer and is in remission, enjoying the rest of his time with his handler and family.(Photo: Nicole Raucheisen/Naples Daily News)

After several months of training and getting to know one another’s quirks, the pair started to work well.

“Once I finally figured out what I was doing out here, we meshed really well,” Sweeny said. “He’d do his thing, but he had good patience with me. He was like a parent with a newborn. I just fell in behind him, and he helped me.”

Handlers have unique and inseparable bonds with their dogs, Gifford said, and retiring them is hard on the deputies.

“I retired my last working dog about two years ago. To be honest with you, having my old dog at home and bringing a new one to work with, I felt like I was having an affair,” Gifford said.

K-9 teams go to work and come home together, sometimes spending more time with one another than with their families. When the dogs get hurt, their handlers feel it, too.

A few years ago, Boss was called to a home invasion and found the accused burglar inside a closet. The man tried to choke Boss and gouge his eyes, Sweeny said.

“It was tough to watch,” Sweeny said. “These dogs are our lives. If they get hurt or sick, we feel it just like they do. The dogs protect us, and we do everything we can to protect him. In my opinion, you’re not a good handler, you were just blessed with a good dog.”